XXX- The Superbit Edition - on DVD
Vin Diesel plays the anti-Bond in this rollicking spy yarn that
draws liberally and unashamedly from the classic spy movie franchise.
Diesel is Xander Cage, an adrenaline junkie whos part athlete,
part showman, and part self-anointed judge/jury/vigilante. We meet him as he
pronounces and performs sentence on a California state senator he deems is a
dick (and from the brief bit we see of the pol he may be right) by stealing
and wrecking his car in a most spectacular fashion.
Xander, known to his friends as X, is recruited by the tough as
nails agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) who gives him the choice of
becoming a secret agent or going to jail (tough decision, eh?) and puts him
through a couple of life-or-death tests to see if he has the right stuff to
out-Bond James.
Well, as it turns out, X lives for the stuff they put him through and is subsequently
sent into action in the Czech Republic, where a group called Anarchy 99 is up
to no good.
Its classic spy stuff, without breaking any new ground, but made fresh
by Xs anti-establishment character and Diesels strong portrayal
of the hero. The stunts are big and spectacular, the cars are fast and furious
and the women typical of the genre.
Rob Cohens direction is fine for the most part, but we noticed that you
have to sit through every big stunt from every angle at which it was filmed
and this not only slows down the action but tends to desensitize you from its
excitement. Perhaps they had to justify the expense of having all those cameras
around by making sure the footage made it to the final film
We also had problems with the score. While some of it is classic symphonic
stuff, a lot of it is hard driving techno and though in places it was necessary
for the story, in other places it just gets in the way rather than enhancing
the mood unobtrusively.
Still, none of this makes the movie unwatchable and, instead, help showcase
the fact that this is meant to be not your ordinary Bond film.
So fans of the genre will undoubtedly enjoy XXX. It has explosions, fast cars
and fast women, big guns, and a megalomaniacal villain worthy of any Bond movie.
This version of XXX, as is usual with Columbia Tristars Superbit
Collection, eschews supplementary material in favor of high end video and
audio. The Superbit Collection is generally a real toy for the home theater
snob, utilizing as it does a special high bit rate digital encoding process
that focuses on optimal video quality while simultaneously offering users the
choice of both dts and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround audio.
Most of the Superbit titles weve reviewed have been spectacular, and
we went into XXX expecting a remarkable home theater experience. And for the
most part we werent disappointed, though we were surprised that many shots
didnt jump out of the screen at us in the way we expected. Some of it
seemed a tad soft, and we were watching it through a progressive scan DVD player
feeding a high end Sony XBR widescreen rear projector.
Not that its a slouch, of course, but we expected even more. Maybe theyve
just spoiled us - or maybe the source material wasnt all it could have
been. In the end, this is not the best Superbit title we've seen when it comes
to picture quality. Despite that, however, the overall anamorphic widescreen
(16x9 TV compatible) picture is very good.
Audio, on the other hand, is spectacular, and this really pays off in a movie
where theres lots of exploding, shooting, and driving. The surrounds arent
used as much as we like, but theyre used well regardless and the overall
audio quality runs the gamut from great rumbling bass to lovely ka-chings of
shell casings hitting the floor - and everything between.
The downside is that the fine audio quality means the driving and pounding
techno music really comes through loudly and clearly and, to our classic rocknroll
roots, this is a shame. But to be fair, its also how it should be when
you're trying to appeal to more than just middle aged farts like us.
We didnt get a chance to see the original DVD release of XXX, so cant
comment on how its audio and video stack up compared to this Superbit one, but
if its like most of the ones we have been able to compare its a
subtle but definite improvement over the original release. The average
consumer may not notice or care, but the home theater aficionado will
probably be pleased.
And thats the audience at which the Superbit Collection is aimed.
XXX - The Superbit Collection - from Columbia Tristar Home Video
124 min. anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1), 16x9 TV compatible, dts and Dolby Digital
5.1 surround
Starring Vin Diesel, Asia Argento, Marton Scokas, Samuel L. Jackson
Produced by Neal H. Moritz
Written by Rich Wilkes, Directed by Rob Cohen
Tell us at TechnoFile what YOU think